Zootopia: Investigating the Past
by DisneyOTPFanatic
Summary: Nick and Judy embark on another adventure, and dangerous details from Nick's past emerge during a case assigned by Mayor Lionheart. Nick fears the temptation of returning to the underbelly of crime, but Judy wants to face the threat head on. Will these two ZPD officers make it through, or will Nick's past tear the apart?
_**A/N: (APRIL 30TH 2016 IM SORRY GUYS I DIDNT REALIZE THE CHAPTER WAS JACKED UP GAHHHH IM SOOOOO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME GUYS)**_

 _ **A/N: Hey there! Um…Wow. Lots has been happening so that's why none of my stories have been updated in like months XD Buuuut… Spring Break is here for me! I made the Dean's List this past semester, so my parents are giving me all of Spring Break to do whatever I want! So, that means hopefully more fanfiction updates! Yay! So, about this story. I 've seen Zootopia at least 4 times already, and every single time I can barely resist the urge to scream, "I SHIP IT!" whenever Nick and Judy are on screen together… I also got my younger cousin shipping them as well XD I've only found a few really good Nick/Judy fics, so I felt that I needed to contribute or something! O.o um…Yeah. Enjoy! (OH AND SPOILERS AHEAD! If you haven't seen it yet, go watch Zootopia first! It's an amazing movie!)**_

At first Judy Hopps wondered if Nick was ready for the Zootopia Police Department. Now, watching him walk into the ZPD offices in his new uniform, she started wondering if Zootopia was ready for Nicholas P. Wilde. She leaned against Benjamin Clawhauser's desk, her arms crossed, having been told by Chief Bogo to give Nick the rundown when he arrived.

Despite her better judgement, Judy allowed herself to give her new partner one slow once-over. The sunlight pouring in from the ZPD's skylights caught his reflective sunglasses, highlighting his lazy smirk. His rookie uniform top fit more "snugly" than his usual green Hawaiian shirt, which worked in his favor. In fact, it seemed as if everything was working in Nick's favor this morning. Judy thought about it, and decided that he looked downright handsome.

But, despite how nice he looked in his uniform, he was late. And that was a problem.

He carried a cup of coffee in one paw, his phone in the other, his thumb furiously tapping away at the keyboard. He aimed a quick nod towards Clawhauser, who'd been waving wildly since Nick walked in.

"Mornin' Hopps." Nick smirked, sliding his sunglasses off after a long sip of his coffee.

"First rule of the ZPD, Wilde. Be on time. You know that." Judy replied, forcing herself to frown.

Nick looked at her and raised an eyebrow, then nodded.

"Sorry, Carrots. Traffic was…" he paused, then noticed Judy's posture. Her hands were on her hips, her cute little foot tapping as fast as lightning. It was as if she forgot that he still wasn't used to being an officer.

"Nevermind."

"Right. We already had roll-call. We're on patrol this morning."

Nick groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Again?"

"Yes. Again. Chief Bogo hasn't had any new cases yet, so we're on patrol for now. Just be glad we're not on parking duty." Judy said, turning and walking to the door to the right of Clawhauser's front desk.

Nick just grunted and downed the rest of his coffee as he followed his partner out to the parking garage.

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Judy gazed out of the windshield lazily, her eyes glazed over as she drove. They'd been on patrol for hours now. Patrol duty was pretty uneventful, and they were both sick of Judy's Gazelle CD, so they'd been driving around in almost near silence for two hours. That had been fine until Nick's phone died and he realized just how bored he was, and had settled for randomly commenting on things he saw out of his window.

"The sign for the Purple Plate is actually blue. Makes sense since it's run by colorblind dogs." He mused.

They stopped at a red light, and Judy risked a glance in Nick's direction. He'd unbuttoned his uniform top and put his sunglasses top of his head. His seat was reclined, one arm over his eyes. Judy's fingers twitched as she suddenly imagined what it would be liked to run her hands over his soft fur.

Nick opened one eye, looking over at his partner and catching her eye. Her expression was akin to a deer in headlights as she quickly turned her eyes to the digital clock on the dashboard.

"You feeling alright, Carrots?"

Judy focused on the road again, nodding.

"It's been a long day." She said, thinking in her head that maybe her exhaustion was the reason she was having these strange thoughts about her partner.

"The longest." Nick groaned, pulling his seat out of its reclined position. "I guess I expected being a police officer to be more exciting. I mean, our most exciting case since I joined up was when we caught Flash speed racing. Can't we talk to Bogo or something?"

Judy sighed, pulling the patrol car over to their next assigned spot.

"I tried to. Apparently since we exposed the Nighthowler case, crime has been…Not as prominent. I mean, I guess if a bunny and a fox can bust the biggest crime ring since Zootopia began, petty criminals don't feel the pull to start trouble."

"I guess we're intimi…dating." Nick said, his eye catching something out of the window.

Judy found herself blushing, wondering why he'd paused there, putting emphasis on "dating". Curious, she followed his distracted gaze out the window to where a cheetah and a sheep were walking into an ice cream parlor, holding hands.

"Huh. Well there's something you don't see every day." Nick chuckled.

"Wow…Yeah… I guess since we have interspecies, predator and prey, police department partners…" Judy trailed off, tugging at one of her ears.

Nick noticed her nervous habit, and coughed uncomfortably.

"Hey, it's Zootopia. Anyone can be anything. I guess that also means 'anyone can be with anyone'."

"True…" Judy smiled slowly, her cheeks tinted pink. "I'm surprised we had such an impact in the minds of everyone." It was then that she realized what her statement may have hinted at. "I mean… Not the dating part, but 'anyone can be _friends_ with anyone'."

Nick just chuckled and slid his sunglasses back down.

"Nice save, Officer Hopps."

Judy rolled her eyes, ready with a sharp comeback, but was stopped in her tracks by static over her walkie-talkie. Grabbing it from the dashboard, she glanced over at Nick who had turned his attention to the walkie-talkie as well.

"Officer Hopps? Come in, Hopps!"

Judy pushed the 'talk' button on the side and forced her voice to remain steady.

"Hopps and Wilde here, Chief Bogo!"

"You're both needed back at Headquarters. Mayor Lionheart has…An assignment. You have 10 minutes."

"An assignment…? What does he mean by that?" Judy wondered, looking over at her partner.

Nick just grinned and excitedly patted the dashboard.

"It means no more patrol! Come on let's go!"

Nick's enthusiasm was contagious, and soon they were flying down the street towards City Hall, sirens blaring.

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"Mayor Lionheart will see you now."

Stepping into the Mayor's office still made Nick's heart pound, even though he was now an officer of the law and not a criminal. Shoving his fear to the back of his mind, he forced a smile and saluted Mayor Lionheart.

"Officers Wilde and Hopps reporting for duty!" he smirked.

Mayor Lionheart rolled his eyes and gestured to the two seats on the other side of his desk.

"Have a seat, officers."

The two of them sat down, Nick assisting Judy ever so slyly by nudging her chair closer to the desk. She noticed, but smiled anyway.

"Alright, well…First off, congratulations Officer Wilde on your new career choice! Proud to have you on the force."

"Pleasure to be a part of it." Nick winked.

"And Officer Hopps…" Lionheart's voice softened, and he smiled. "Zootopia still thanks you for all you did for both the city and myself."

Judy beamed, and Nick allowed himself to notice how her 'cute little fluffy tail' twitched happily.

"Now, onto more serious matters. There have been a string of reports of mysterious phone calls to city officials. The calls have been demanding money, threatening families, and spreading negative lies about other city officials. The city is in a state of unrest."

Nick's eyebrows furrowed, and Judy's ears were perked up.

"What do you mean, 'unrest'?" Nick asked, absentmindedly tugging at the hem of his police uniform top.

"I think he means… Correct me if I'm wrong, sir. I think he means that city officials are not trusting each other. Since we're not sure who the calls are coming from and lies are being spread, animals are inwardly blaming each other."

"That's just about the gist of it, Officer Hopps. For example, the head of Herds & Grazing refuses to speak with the director of the Fire Department, who refuses to speak with anyone but myself since I told him I would be assigning the case."

"What do you want us to do, Mayor?" Nick asked.

"Figure out who the calls are coming from. I know that you both have certain…connections on the more illegal side of Zootopia… Perhaps that will be the key to solving this."

Judy wanted to laugh, thinking back to her interactions with Mr. Big. That was one of her biggest gateway connections to the underbelly of Zootopia.

Nick tugged at his tail, his jaw twitching. He'd taken this job to do something better with his life, away from crime and villainy, and now he was being asked to go back into it. He almost whimpered as he realized how going back alone was dangerous, but going back with a police badge and an overly courageous partner could mean serious trouble for both of them.

He couldn't let anything happen to Judy.

"Sir? Where exactly are we going to be working? Like…Which part of Zootopia?"

"Mostly on the outskirts of town, and the borders between the different districts of Zootopia. That's where our suspected targets are from."

Nick's heart seized. That was where most of his previous dealings had been when he was still a conman…

"With all do respect sir, I…I don't feel this case is...Right for us." He said, scooting forward in his chair a bit.

Judy's head whipped to face Nick.

"Nick…?" her voice came out barely above a whisper. "What…?"

"What do you mean by that?" Mayor Lionheart's fur bristled and his eyes widened.

"Let me explain…"

"What are you trying to say Nick? Do you…Do you think we can't handle it…? Do you think that _I_ can't handle it?" Judy's eyes were wide and round, confusion and hurt evident in them.

"Well, yes but… I mean…No, Carrots, no. I…I just…" Nick stammered, trying not to get lost in Judy's violet eyes.

"Look, Nick. Just because I'm a bunny that doesn't mean I can't do this. Did you not learn anything…?"

Nick tried to defend himself and explain, but Judy had already made up her mind.

"We'll discuss this later." her voice hardened, and she swiftly turned to the Mayor. "We'll take the case."

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The ride to ZPD Headquarters was quiet, and tense. Judy gripped the steering wheel like she was strangling it, and Nick sunk into his seat, a frown permanently on his face. He'd tried to speak before, but Judy kept shutting him down with the fierceness of an angry predator. Judy tried to think about their new case, but every time she heard Nick's soft yet frustrated breathing, she got angry all over again. Nick decided it was best to stay quiet until she cooled down a bit. Judy parked the patrol car, and slammed the driver's side door when she got out. Nick jumped out of the car and hurried after her.

"Carrots!"

Judy bit her lip to keep her tears from falling. She felt betrayed. How could he think that she couldn't handle a case like that? After all they'd been through! She thought he knew her better. She sped up her pace, almost sprinting to the door that led into the building. She had to get away from him….at least for now. Without looking back, she shoved the door open and hurried to the office she and Nick shared.

"Carrots! Hold on!"

Nick slid through the door, ignoring Clawhauser and the rest of those in the lobby. He practically ran after Judy, but lost sight of her when she sprinted around the corner. He knew where she was going, though.

Judy slammed the door closed behind her, locked it, and curled up in her desk chair. Nick pounded on the door, his voice desperate.

"Carrots! Carrots come on let me explain!"

Judy didn't answer, her small frame shaking in her chair. After a while, Nick's pounding got the attention of other animals walking down the hall and he gave up. He sat on the floor, his back against the foggy glass door, and decided to explain himself right there.

"I didn't mean that I thought you can't handle the new case, Carrots." A long sigh escaped his lips, and he tugged anxiously at his sleeve. "I just… My life, before I met you, was… dangerous to say the least, I took out loans I knew I couldn't, or rather _wouldn't_ , repay. I scammed some pretty big wigs and paid the price. And… Anyone who worked alongside me got hurt in the process." Nick let out a sigh. "I don't want that to happen to you. This whole case is better suited for some team who have nothing to do with that lifestyle."

Nick stood, resting his forehead against the door.

"Please, Judy. Let me in so I can talk to you…"

There was no sound for a while, and then very soft shuffling could be heard on the other side of the door. Judy unlocked the door, but made Nick open it himself. She sat back in her chair at her desk, her eyes glued to the scattered papers in front of her.

"Um…What's all that?"

Judy opened her mouth to speak, but just shook her head and quietly gathered the papers together, and slid them into their folder.

"You wanted to come in and explain?" she said, finally looking up at him with red puffy eyes.

"Oh um…Yeah. Look, I know you could handle the case alone…probably. But with me as your partner, you're in way more danger. I know these types. I've worked with them. The minute they see me, they'll lose their minds. Probably kill us both." Nick shrugged, sighing as he leaned against her desk. "As cliché as it sounds, it's not you, it's me."

"I think we could handle it Nick. I honestly do. You're…a reformed conman. You're better now. You're…stronger. I know you're afraid that you'll get sucked back in. I can see it in your eyes. You won't, Nick." Judy said softly, sliding out of her chair and touching his arm.

"…I don't want you to get hurt. That's the bottom line. I don't care what happens to me. You did nothing that would make them hate you…Besides being my friend." Nick gritted his teeth.

Judy sighed.

"So dramatic… Look, Nick. We'll take the case, but at the first sign of serious danger…We'll run."

Nick looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Promise?"

Judy smiled and nodded, then hugged him tightly.

"I promise."

"Good…" Nick said softly, hugging her back, slightly tighter.

 _If anything happens to her…I swear…_

Nick's ears flattened against his head, and he instinctively bit his lip to keep from begging Judy to change her mind.

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 _ **A/N: Yo yo yooooo! Lol I have been sooo busy lately, so I'm sorry this is taking forever. I'm trying though! Please review and such!**_


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